It is almost time to release the Kraken. With the 2021 Expansion Draft quickly approaching, Nashville Predators General Manager David Poile will need to decide on who to leave available for the new Seattle franchise to poach this summer. After the season was put to rest by a six-game series loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round, the speculation on Nashville’s protection list instantaneously began. Two of the players most thrown around in discussions are also the two highest-paid forwards: Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen.
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The two centers drew the ire of fans this season as they were unable to generate points on a team that seemed allergic to goals at times; neither Duchene nor Johansen finished in the top ten on the Predators in goals (Johansen slid into the eighth spot for points by the skin of his teeth).